Debra J. Heffernan (born April 8, 1962) is an American politician. She is a

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

member of the

Delaware House of Representatives The Delaware State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is ...

, representing District 6. Heffernan earned her BS in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditar ...

from the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 m ...

and her MS in

environmental toxicology Environmental toxicology is a multidisciplinary field of science concerned with the study of the harmful effects of various chemical, biological and physical agents on living organisms. Ecotoxicology is a subdiscipline of environmental toxicol ...

from Duke University. Heffernan is a part of the

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to th ...

wing of the

Delaware Democratic Party The Delaware Democratic Party (DelDems) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is headquartered in New Castle County and chaired by Erik Raser-Schramm. The party is the dominant political party in Delaware and ...

. She supported centrist US Senator

Tom Carper Thomas Richard Carper (born January 23, 1947) is an American politician and former military officer serving as the senior United States senator from Delaware, having held the seat since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, Carper served in ...

in the 2018 US Senate election in Delaware over

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy pa ...

challenger

Kerri Evelyn Harris Kerri Evelyn Harris (born December 24, 1979) is an American activist and politician who is the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Delaware House of Representatives, state representative for Delaware's 32nd district. She was previously ...

. In 2022, she defeated progressive challenger Becca Cotto in the Democratic primary.

Electoral history

*In 2010, Heffernan won the three-way general election with 4,363 votes (51.9%) against

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-el ...

Republican Tom Kovach and

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

nominee Matthew Flebbe. She was one of only ten candidates to defeat a sitting Republican in a state house race in 2010 according to

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

. *In 2012, Heffernan won the general election with 7,502 votes (62.4%) against Republican nominee Eric Taylor. *In 2014, Heffernan won the general election with 4,496 votes (63.4%) against Republican nominee Kyle Buzzard. *In 2016, Heffernan was unopposed in the general election and won 9,545 votes. *In 2018, Heffernan won the general election with 7,073 (65.3%) against Republican nominee Jeffrey Olmstead.

References

External links

Official page
at the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legi ...

Campaign site
* Place of birth missing (living people) 1962 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Delaware House of Representatives Women state legislators in Delaware 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians People from New Castle County, Delaware University of Delaware alumni Duke University alumni {{Delaware-politician-stub